ThoughtGallery.org > On Fatherhood: A Stirring Conversation Addressing the Politics and Power of the Home

On Fatherhood: A Stirring Conversation Addressing the Politics and Power of the Home

Pop culture still parades images of toxic masculinity and women still face significant challenges in the movement for gender equity. Yet, with greater numbers of fathers choosing child-raising roles, masculinity is being redefined, and some argue, a new equality is being forged.

Join us for a conversation with photographers Ariel & Sam Soto-Suver, Lance Somerfeld, Founder of City Dads Group and Anne Meadows, Visuals Editor at Fatherly.

Topics to include:
– Gender equality and gender justice
– Second wave feminism and the pitfalls of the domestic life
– Fatherhood and community in contemporary life
– Bringing equity not equality to a parenting partnership

This program is in support of the Fotografiska New York installation: Disrupting Fatherhood: A Movement Toward Gender Equity. Photographs by Ariel and Sam Soto-Suver.

About the installation:
Disrupting Fatherhood: A Movement Toward Gender Equity challenges conceptions of gender around fatherhood on a personal and social level. The seed originated from Sam’s own experience as a new dad. He felt gratitude for being able to participate in the lives of his children, but also a discordant sense of isolation, realizing how few dads choose to be primary caregivers. However, what originally stemmed from a personal quest to understand what it means to be a father at its most existential level, broadened into an investigation of the experiences and challenges that other fathers face, especially in the broader movement for gender equality. The format of the exhibition reflects the photographers’ process of inquiry, with half of the show depicting images and stories of the photographers’ family, and the other half bearing witness to other fathers. The total effect seeks to open definitional concepts of masculinity in the home for the viewer.

About Ariel and Sam Soto-Suver: A married photography team, Ariel and Sam continue to document the impact of socio-economic inequities and the efforts of individuals, groups, and movements to address them. Their most recently completed project includes a photography exhibition titled FRAME: How Asia Pacific Filmmakers and Artists are Addressing Inequalities, shown in Brisbane, Australia coinciding with the 12th Asian Screen Awards; Berlin, Germany as part of the 69th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale); Sydney, Australia as part of the Sydney Film Festival; and in Rochester, New York, USA as part of the High Falls Women’s Film Festival, among other places. They met each other for the first time when Ariel stumbled into a public art installation that Sam was performing, walking home soaked in beer and a lock of his hair in her hands. They soon started working together artistically, their commitment to social justice photography only intensifying, raising two small children in the world and wanting to act for their future. They are also educators, and live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

About Lance Somerfeld: Lance is the co-founder of City Dads Group: a dynamic, diverse, and burgeoning community of fathers with chapters in major metropolitan areas across the U.S. dedicated to being active in their children’s lives and redefining what it means to be a dad in the 21st century. When he’s not on a family adventure, Lance frequently contributes to the conversation about modern fatherhood, work-life balance, shifting gender roles, and brand’s marketing to dads. He has appeared on local and national television, including CNN, Good Morning America, Today and Katie. He has been quoted by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Time Out Kids, GQ, Parenting and The Atlantic. Lance lives with his wife and two children in New York City.

About Anne Meadows: Anne Meadows is the Visuals Editor of Fatherly, the publication for dads. She is responsible for Fatherly’s inclusive, realistic, and illustration-heavy aesthetic and the publication’s divestment from tired stock photography. In her role, Meadows has designed brand assets across platforms, helping to imbue pamphlets, books, and podcasts, including Finding Fred (The Atlantic’s top podcast of 2019) with a humanity that transcends the sweetness endemic to the parenting space. Meadows previously worked at Shutterstock and CafeMom and moonlights as a photographer. She lives in Astoria, Queens, with her husband.











When: Sat., Mar. 7, 2020 at 4:30 pm
Where: Fotografiska
281 Park Ave. S.

Price: $35
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Pop culture still parades images of toxic masculinity and women still face significant challenges in the movement for gender equity. Yet, with greater numbers of fathers choosing child-raising roles, masculinity is being redefined, and some argue, a new equality is being forged.

Join us for a conversation with photographers Ariel & Sam Soto-Suver, Lance Somerfeld, Founder of City Dads Group and Anne Meadows, Visuals Editor at Fatherly.

Topics to include:
– Gender equality and gender justice
– Second wave feminism and the pitfalls of the domestic life
– Fatherhood and community in contemporary life
– Bringing equity not equality to a parenting partnership

This program is in support of the Fotografiska New York installation: Disrupting Fatherhood: A Movement Toward Gender Equity. Photographs by Ariel and Sam Soto-Suver.

About the installation:
Disrupting Fatherhood: A Movement Toward Gender Equity challenges conceptions of gender around fatherhood on a personal and social level. The seed originated from Sam’s own experience as a new dad. He felt gratitude for being able to participate in the lives of his children, but also a discordant sense of isolation, realizing how few dads choose to be primary caregivers. However, what originally stemmed from a personal quest to understand what it means to be a father at its most existential level, broadened into an investigation of the experiences and challenges that other fathers face, especially in the broader movement for gender equality. The format of the exhibition reflects the photographers’ process of inquiry, with half of the show depicting images and stories of the photographers’ family, and the other half bearing witness to other fathers. The total effect seeks to open definitional concepts of masculinity in the home for the viewer.

About Ariel and Sam Soto-Suver: A married photography team, Ariel and Sam continue to document the impact of socio-economic inequities and the efforts of individuals, groups, and movements to address them. Their most recently completed project includes a photography exhibition titled FRAME: How Asia Pacific Filmmakers and Artists are Addressing Inequalities, shown in Brisbane, Australia coinciding with the 12th Asian Screen Awards; Berlin, Germany as part of the 69th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale); Sydney, Australia as part of the Sydney Film Festival; and in Rochester, New York, USA as part of the High Falls Women’s Film Festival, among other places. They met each other for the first time when Ariel stumbled into a public art installation that Sam was performing, walking home soaked in beer and a lock of his hair in her hands. They soon started working together artistically, their commitment to social justice photography only intensifying, raising two small children in the world and wanting to act for their future. They are also educators, and live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

About Lance Somerfeld: Lance is the co-founder of City Dads Group: a dynamic, diverse, and burgeoning community of fathers with chapters in major metropolitan areas across the U.S. dedicated to being active in their children’s lives and redefining what it means to be a dad in the 21st century. When he’s not on a family adventure, Lance frequently contributes to the conversation about modern fatherhood, work-life balance, shifting gender roles, and brand’s marketing to dads. He has appeared on local and national television, including CNN, Good Morning America, Today and Katie. He has been quoted by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Time Out Kids, GQ, Parenting and The Atlantic. Lance lives with his wife and two children in New York City.

About Anne Meadows: Anne Meadows is the Visuals Editor of Fatherly, the publication for dads. She is responsible for Fatherly’s inclusive, realistic, and illustration-heavy aesthetic and the publication’s divestment from tired stock photography. In her role, Meadows has designed brand assets across platforms, helping to imbue pamphlets, books, and podcasts, including Finding Fred (The Atlantic’s top podcast of 2019) with a humanity that transcends the sweetness endemic to the parenting space. Meadows previously worked at Shutterstock and CafeMom and moonlights as a photographer. She lives in Astoria, Queens, with her husband.

Buy tickets/get more info now